


unfolding every hour

by bookoftheazuresky



Series: a mysterious way [2]
Category: Tales of Graces
Genre: Alternate Universe - Flower Shop, M/M, Malik is a troll
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-23
Updated: 2017-05-23
Packaged: 2018-11-04 02:43:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,061
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10981692
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bookoftheazuresky/pseuds/bookoftheazuresky
Summary: When Asbel came floating into the dojo for the third time on a cloud of romantic daydreams, Malik decided that it was time to get to the bottom of this.





	unfolding every hour

When Asbel came floating into the dojo for the _third_ time on a cloud of romantic daydreams, Malik decided that it was time to get to the bottom of this. When he’d asked, Cheria had smirked at him and ‘suggested’ that he leave Asbel’s business alone- which, coming from her, was actually pretty funny.

Still, being one of the few people who knew about Asbel’s family situation meant that he could see her point. Over the years he’d seen a lot of kids come through the armed forces whose families more or less disowned them. But when Asbel’s particular variant had blown up like a landmine right after the young Lieutenant had gotten back…well, he’d been pretty relationship-shy after that. Getting tagged with the blame from father, mother, _and_ brother would do that to you.

But that also meant that his Captain should look out for him, just in case this one went wrong! Malik certainly had much more experience in the romance department than Asbel did. Satisfied with his logic, Malik nodded a greeting to Poisson, who was just finishing up putting her long hair in a tighter ponytail.

“Sensei,” Poisson said cheerfully, pushing her headband back into position in the front of her white and light magenta hair. “It looks like most of the class is here.”

“A good turn-out,” Malik agreed. Mid-week classes were often sparsely attended since people tended to get busy, even for a dojo as popular as Kaiser Arts. “If you don’t mind, I’ll have you help me with the demonstrations today, and Asbel can help the kids.” It would give him a chance to catch Asbel after class, since the children’s instructor also had the job of making sure all of the kids were picked up before leaving.

Poisson raised her eyebrows at this, but agreed willingly enough, “No problem, Sensei.” Normally he left the children in Poisson’s hands, since even at 16 she was closer to their size, but he switched out his junior instructors regularly enough that it wasn’t strange.

“How’s that crazy cousin of yours doing?” Malik asked, judging it was about time for another installment in the ongoing saga of Natural Disaster Pascal.

The young woman gave a put-upon sigh, signaling that there was indeed an update to his favorite gossip series. “Well, Fourier was just coming back from work when Pascal called her and said she’d come up with the _best_ idea…” she started.

Malik kept one eye on the goofily grinning Asbel as he listened. _You’re next_ , he thought.

~

“You look happy, Asbel,” Sophie observed, tipping her head to the side like that would provide her with more information. Her long pigtails, the exact shade of sopheria petals, fell over her shoulders with the movement, but her focus didn’t waver.

Since this was Sophie, Asbel had no doubt that the girl had been observing him intently all evening in order to come to this conclusion. “I met someone nice a few weeks ago, and I think we’re going to be friends,” Asbel told her, condensing down more than a month of sweet, shy smiles and gradually more conversation with a _very_ attractive interior designer to a single sentence appropriate for a 10-year-old. He’d been overjoyed when Richard had come in to pick up his next order of floral arrangements, without the time crunch that had marked their first meeting- which ended with him actually getting a name this time.

“Someone…nice,” Sophie repeated, expression thoughtful. Then, forthrightly, “That’s good. You should be happy more.”

Feeling sheepish, Asbel turned his attention to the other child still waiting to be picked up rather than follow up that statement. “Did you have fun today, Lambda?”

The pale-haired boy took a minute to think about it, then nodded. Which was something of a relief, because Lambda had _not_ been very happy about coming to classes when Mr. Cornell had enrolled him along with his foster sister. It had taken months for him to warm up to any of the instructors, and he was still a bit leery of Malik. Even now, Asbel had never heard him talk.

As if summoned by Asbel thinking of him, Mr. Cornell pushed open the front door of the dojo. Asbel promptly lost Lambda’s attention in favor of the kid’s dad, the small figure rushing over excitedly. Sophie, more conscious of her dignity, said, “Bye, Asbel.” She trotted over to her foster father at a more sedate pace. The older man smiled and waved at Asbel, prompting the children to do the same before heading out the door.

Asbel was waving back when he heard the Captain say, “Oh, Asbel…” The tone sent a chill down Asbel’s spine. That was Malik’s ‘I’ve found the only place in 100 miles that sells liquor’ voice. His ‘you’re about to have a surprise inspection’ voice. That particular tone promised nothing good to a certain ex-army florist.

“Oh, wow, is it that late? I have to get home and water my plants!” Asbel blurted. He turned towards where he’d stowed his bag before class, intending to snatch it up for a quick getaway, only to see that Malik was standing right next to it. The martial arts instructor was smirking.

“See you later, Mr. Caesar, Asbel,” Poisson said, serenely ignoring the plea for help written all over Asbel’s face as she headed for the door. The jingle of the chimes on the doorframe was the death-knell of Asbel’s hopes.

“You know, I was thinking that we hadn’t gone out for drinks lately,” Malik said thoughtfully. “I’m sure we have a lot of catching up to do, right?” He smiled slightly. “I’ve been hearing that all sorts of things have been happening lately.”

_Cheria, you traitor_ , Asbel thought. “It’s nothing, really, Captain! Work’s just been going well lately…that’s…all…” he trailed off weakly. Malik had raised his eyebrows in indulgent disbelief. Yup, Cheria had told him everything.

“Why don’t you get back into street clothes and we can go hit up the bar and talk about work?” Malik ‘suggested’ gently. “I’ll buy you a beer.”

Asbel recognized the tiny concession to mercy in Malik’s proposal. Now he really had no way out.

“I need to get home before 10,” he said, surrendering to the inevitable.

Malik patted him on the shoulder, magnanimous in victory. “I think we can manage that.”


End file.
